REPORT: COWELL TO RETURN TO U.K. TALENT SHOW

Simon Cowell, who left the British version of America’s Got Talent (Britain’s Got Talent) to focus his energy on the launch of The X Factor in the U.S., will return to the show next year, the London Daily Mirror reported today (Wednesday), citing a source at ITV, the commercial broadcaster. Ratings for both BGT and the British version of X Factor have plummeted since Cowell’s departure. The Mirror‘s source said, “His presence will be a guaranteed ratings winner as he is so popular with viewers.” Published rumors have indicated that Cowell might return to the struggling X Factor in the U.K. via a satellite hookup from Los Angeles, where the American version is produced, but there was no reference to such a strategy in the Mirror article. A spokesman for BGT dismissed the report as speculation and said that the program will announce a new lineup of judges for the show “soon.”